The Hanging Tree
by Sarah the mutant farm girl
Summary: 10th in series. When runaway Jimmy Forman stumbled onto the resort our favorite four hunters never dreamed he'd bring along this hunt. So when Athena agrees to poke around for the boy's peace of mind, she's shocked to find a real hunt hiding in his town.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Eric Kripke owns Supernatural. I just borrow the Winchesters for my own guilty pleasures. Autumn and Athena Daemon belong to me though so that counts as something right?**

**A/N: I thought this would take me a lot longer but appearently my mind works faster than I give it credit for. By now you know the drill read and review. The more reviews I get the faster I'm propelled to write.**

**The Hanging Tree**

**Chapter One**

_Bushwood, Georgia, April 2cd, 2007_

Emily Christy sat on the steps of the court house picking at the hem of her skirt. Robbie must have thought he was doing something good for her, when he told the school counselor about her situation. Surely he couldn't have known it would come down to all this. Emily ran her tongue over dry, cracked lips and wished she'd remembered her gloss this morning.  
The steps over looked town square. It wasn't hard to see the town's history, fore it covered every inch of the square. The morbid favorite of the local children was the large oak tree in the middle of the square. Most towns would have the statue of their founder or some other historically significant member of society, Bushwood had an oak tree. The very tree men used be hung from. There were a million ghost stories built around that Hangman's Tree, Emily hadn't believed any of them until she'd seen Faith Forman strung up, beaten, raped, naked, and dead in that tree. Since then the stories had been hard to escape.

Faith's kid brother swore it was voodoo and had run away to find people who would believe him. He'd been back two weeks now and every day swore his help would arrive. Emily prayed the boy was right. If Jimmy was right then the stories would be put to rest, someone would get arrested, and their quiet little town could repent for the next couple of decades.

Emily hadn't realized she was staring at the tree until something impossible registered in her tired mind. Dangling from the tree garbed like an outlaw from the mid 1800's was a man, blue in the face, eyes bulging, and still gasping. His feet still kicking like he was walking in the air. A little scream escaped her.

"Em!" strong arms suddenly wrapped around her and she fought them. "Emily, calm down it's just me." a low whisper in her ear, more familiar than her own voice. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Can't you see him? Can't you see the man in the tree?" she pointed frantically at the tree and Robbie stared after her finger.

"There's nothing there." He pulled her close to his chest and rocked her. "It's okay. You're just stressed." she was doing a pathetic job of holding back the sobs. "Shh, it's okay. It's just all this stuff about that Forman girl and with your folks. It'll be okay. I promise." With his promise she found herself relaxing, all her fear melted away into nothingness.

"I love you, Robert Collins." she whispered into his suit jacket.

"Not half as much as I love you, Emily Christy."

"Hey, guys! They want everyone back." Emmett, Faith's boyfriend and Robbie's best friend, yelled sprinting toward them. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's just a little freaked." Robbie answered. "Come on Short Stuff, let's get this party started." he took Emily's hand and led her back to the court room, Emmett close behind. Emily looked back to the tree, the man was gone but she was dead certain he'd been there a moment before.

_Raining Cloud's Hunters' Resort, Montana, April 2cd, 2007_

"Autumn! You have to be joking!" Athena flipped through the pages in awe. "You hate Shakespeare."

"No, I hated being forced to read something I didn't care about." Autumn amended pretending not to be upset by her sister's teasing.

"Seriously, you're killing me here." Athena continued undeterred by Autumn's play. "We'll at least it isn't Romeo and Juliet."

"Don't try me, Squirt. I might read it just to quote it and drive you crazy."

"Hamlet… how'd that one go?" real curiosity poisoned Athena's voice.

"Did you ever pay attention in High School English?" Autumn sifted through her bottom drawer, where she kept all her clothing she found offensive, other wise known as her bar wench costumes.

"Freshmen year Erin Watersomething sat in front of me and she had lice so bad you could see them crawl two desks back, so I watched her hair more often than the teacher. Sophomore was Eddie Cumming's Elton John's phase and he sat by me everyday so I was usually trying to ignore his bad fashion sense and crude attempts at flirting, don't even remember the teacher's name." Athena found a sucker in her pocket and unwrapped it as she thought. "Junior was my crush on Alan Micheals and Senior year I was too busy worrying about those damn braces the dentist saw fit to put me in." Autumn rolled her eyes at her sister.

"Don't worry about it, then. Besides, it's not really Hamlet its just a spin off from Ophelia's point of view."

"Let me guess star crossed lovers, and everyone dies at the end? Don't wear the pleather mini skirt."

"Something like that; what did you do to my skirt?"

"It had a bad run in with a bottle of Will's cologne." Autumn glared at her sister picking the skirt out of the drawer and tossing it in the vague direction of the waste basket. "What? You didn't think we were all innocent did you?"

"No, but I had hoped my clothes hadn't become victims of your stupidity."

"Which stupidity is that?" Athena asked her sweet curiosity suddenly becoming sharp and dangerous.

"Do you remember that book Martha sent us? The Hunter's Guide or something?"

"Yea…"

"What did he say a million times in the course of the book? It isn't worth it to fall in love, with our job."

"Says the girl who has another hunter on her hook." Athena dropped back into her bed and opened the book to read. "Are you always going to treat me like I'm fifteen?" Autumn tugged on a pair of Levi's and ruffled her sister's golden locks.

"Yep. You'll always be my baby sister, no matter what you do or how old you get."

"Screw you."

"You wish." Autumn shoved her feet in her boots lacing up before stumbling out to the living room.

"Her appointment is at two right?" Sam asked as she ran her fingers through her hair in a final attempt and taming it into a resemblance of presentable.

"Yea, I wrote directions down, their on the counter. I've got all the perishables boxed up Marc and Duck will be by this evening to take them to the big house." Autumn stopped to look at Sam knowing she was forgetting something. He was sitting at the kitchen table looking over a small arm compound bow that Marc had made, the two had at least found friendly terms on their last hunt.

"Did you gas 'er up?" Autumn nodded. "You have everything packed to leave tomorrow?" again she nodded. "Did you tell Dean where you hid the Impala?"

"That's what I was forgetting." she ran for her coat, hanging by the door, and dug the keys out of the pocket. "Here, she's parked down by the river. Can't miss her I covered her up with a bright blue tarp."

"I'll go get the car in a minute." he looked at his watch. "You better get moving before you're late."

"Gus won't mind. He knows I'll show up sooner or later." Sam shook his head.

"You could never keep a 9-5 job." Autumn grinned.

"Good, I don't want one of those." she looked herself over one last time before darting out the door, heading for the smoke filled, dimly light bar.

As an April Fools joke Autumn had hid the Impala in the woods, not her most ingenious idea as Dean now refused to talk to her. To highlight this, he hadn't even come to the bar yesterday during her shift. He usually made a point coming in and marking his territory instead he avoided the bar like the plague. The joke wasn't the only one, the whole resort had been swarming with pissed off hunters yesterday and most of the feathers were still severely ruffled.

Gus nodded when she came in tossing her, her apron. Autumn quickly tied it around her waist and picked up her tray. It was going to be a long day, she decided when none of her usual costumers said a word to her beyond "The usual, Autumn. Thanks." Marc meandered in, in time for lunch looking all sorts of out of place, as always.

"Hey, you." he ran his tongue up the back of Autumn's neck.

"Hiya."

"You old man still not talking to you?"

"Seems that way." she hopped up on the bar stool next to him.

"I just got off the phone with Mack and Jasper." he grinned. "They send you greetings."

"That's two names I haven't heard in forever. How they doing?"

"Good, I guess. Up in Albany right now. Said after that they want to hang around the coast."

"Are they coming out this way in the foreseeable future?" He shrugged.

"Mack says she wants to, but she also wants to jump of the Eiffel Tower. So you make what you will of that."

"Does Jasper want to come out?" Marc nodded. "Then they'll be out, sooner or later."

"What makes you so sure?"

"A: this is Jasper's home, B: Mackenzie has and always will do anything he wants." Marc smacked her arm.

"You've got people waiting." he jerked his head in the direction of a group of men with empty glasses.

"I'll be back." she attempted to sound like everybody's favorite governor, to no avail.

"You need to get ready for the doctors, Teenie." Sam said poking his head into the Daemon's bedroom. Athena was laying on her bed propped against a mound of pillows, she'd been stealing from every other room in the cabin, and reading. He had to take a second look to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. What was more shocking than her reading a book, was it didn't appear to have anything to do with hunting. "What are you reading?" he asked stepping into the small bedroom. It was no different from the room he shared with Dean, twin bunk beds, two dressers, dinky closet, a foot locker at the end of the beds, which had been unstacked, thick curtains that allowed the two most important things to any hunter privacy and little sunlight, so when they came in midday after being out all night on a hunt they could crash.

"Oh, something of Autumn's." Athena closed the book around her finger showing him the cover. "Boy Called 'It', it's a child abuse story." Sam nodded sitting on the edge of Autumn's bed.

"Is it any good?"

"I keep expecting Glenda the Good Witch or Galahad to show up and save the kid. So, actually it is a pretty good book. Better than I expected."

"I was starting to think you didn't read." he grinned. She looked up at him through her lashes and chewed her lip. "You need to get ready, Blondie." he tried using a nickname to escape her gaze.

"Yea, alright. Did you put that damn chair in the shower for me?" he nodded. "Thanks, Sam. You're the best." Athena swung her legs over the side of her bed grabbing her crutches in one fluid movement. She stopped long enough to drape her clean clothes over her shoulder.

"I've got to go get the car. You be ready when I get back?" he shuffled to the living room wondering if he should stick around incase she needed help.

"Yea, I'll be fine." she called through the bathroom door.

Autumn was covering Athena's shift in the bar, and Sam had just gotten back with Athena from getting her cast removed. The younger pair were inside cabin playing board games and sharing tales of broken bones, not all of which had anything to do with hunting. So, with John at his side Dean set to his task. He knew Autumn was the soul player in his precious '67 Chevy Impala's disappearance, therefore she was the only one that needed punished. He had thought she understood the bond between him and his car. She had such a similar one with her Mustang. He sat his supplies down and looked the shiny red car over.

"Sorry, Scarlet. You'll be cleaned up later, I promise." he whispered to the car before starting is work.

"What the hell did you do to my car?" Autumn tore into the cabin irate. Sam and Athena, newly castless, looked up from their game of checkers.

"It was fine when we parked it, sis. Honest." Athena said holding up her right hand.

"Where is your brother? I'm going to kill him." she turned her angry eyes onto Sam.

"Calm down, Autty. What's wrong with you car?"

"For starters she has two flat tires and is covered in egg yoke."

"That's starters?" Athena pushed herself off the ground and walked awkwardly to the window. "Oh my God." The candy apple red '65 Mustang sat in front of the cabin like always, with major differences. First the tires that had been flattened diagonal of one another, then at least a dozen eggs had bombed the poor car. Someone had written in thick marker on the windshield the words 'I belong to a car thief' and to top it all off the side mirrors were missing completely. Sam was quickly behind Athena, pressing against her in his rush to see the horror.

"I'm going to tear him limb from limb. I might just castrate him with a very dull butter knife. I haven't decided yet. I've heard some nice ways of summoning hell hounds I might let one of them have at him." Autumn stormed back to her bedroom peeling off her clothes as she went. She didn't waste time changing into something a little less restrictive.

"Autumn, stop." Sam barred the door.

"Samantha, the door isn't the only way out of here. Haven't you noticed the windows are queerly low?" she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Autty, are you armed?"

"No." she growled at her sister. "I don't really want him dead. Just hurting."

"Take a deep breath. Count to ten." Autumn did as she was told, not that it helped any. "How do you feel now?"

"Like strangling the two of you. He's getting away."

"How do you know it was Dean?" Sam asked calmly.

"I stole his car, Sammy. I figured he'd want revenge but…. My car. Why my car? Why couldn't he just cut me off or something?"

"He'd want to punish you not himself." Athena pointed out. "Do you know where he is?"

"No, but I know where he'll be when I'm done: a double room in the ICU."

"Let her out, Sam." Athena ordered with a sigh. Sam stepped a side, when something else struck Autumn.

"Where's my dog?" All three of the house's occupants ran over their day in detail trying to remember seeing John, the large, protective rottweiler, and the Daemon's closest, longest companion. "Both my babies at once." Autumn shook her head. "That's not going to happen." she was out the door before Sam could stop her.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey, I've been looking at my hits and I'm getting like 40 hits a chapter and only have two people review... What's up with that? If you're reading would you please leave me a review? I feed off of them, they keep me going guys. I'll wither away and die, I-have-a-Winchester-06 and PoisonChick88 I love you two, you've been so great! Everyone should totally read their fics!

**Chapter Two**

"I guess you won't be touching my car with out permission, then." Dean said watching Autumn over his thermoses of coffee. Her hair was pulled back in a lose pony tail, and she'd made no attempt to dress to impress, wearing a baggy old t-shirt saying "Redneck Woman with attitude. HELL YEAH!" around a stunning dark haired woman with a cowboy hat pulled over her eyes, and a pair of jeans that had met a bottle of bleach at some point in their life.

"I can think of some things you won't be touching either." she mumbled, finding time to glare at him while packing her and Athena's lunches for the road.

"Mornin' Sissy-poo." Athena bounced in on cue. She wrapped an arm around Autumn's shoulders in a quick hug. " 'Tis a glorious day 'tisn't it? A fresh hunt, unbound leg, and I think I can see the sun and hear birds singing."

"Teenie, did you just say 'tis?" Athena tweaked her sister's nose before moving on to raid the fridge for breakfast.

"I most certainly did." she grinned. "So how long did it take to scrub the car clean?"

"Let's just say you're driving today." Autumn folded down the sacked lunches and moved to grab a bowl for Athena.

"Thanks, Dean." the blond grinned stealing his coffee and taking a long drag. "Did Sammy-boy get us directions printed?"

"Yea, here, he printed them before he went to bed last night." Autumn slid the bowl over to her sister. "Heard you kicked his ass at checkers?"

"Of course! When we get to the motel he wants to rematch with Old Maid." Dean retrieved his coffee and dismissed himself to find his brother.

"I'm not done with you Dean Winchester!" Autumn followed after him. "You still have to tell me where my dog is."

"No, sorry, I can't do that." he said as she caught up with him on the porch. She blocked him from getting down the stairs, hands on her hips looking like a wild woman with the rising sun over her shoulders.

"You damn well better tell me where my dog is. I just hid the Impala for a day, it was returned before you had time to miss it."

"You don't need John, so you can't miss him." Dean told her using the same reason. A passing hunter that he recognized from the bar stopped to watch them, wonderment easily read on his face.

"Gerard, I can feel your greasy eyes on my back, boy. You better just move along this don't concern you." Autumn threatened. Dean grinned amused, as Gerard was nearly as old had his dad. Their audience quickly scurried away his tail tucked between his legs. "Wipe that smirk off your face Winchester. Where's my dog?"

"I'm not telling." he continued to withhold the information enjoying the rage in her hazel eyes.

"I'm going to kill you, you know that right?" she asked her voice falling into an unusual calm.

"Give it your best shot, sister." he held his arms out showing her he wouldn't stop her. Instead she pulled her keys out of her pocket and jumped over the railing of the steps. She was standing over the hood of the Impala before he could move, her key pressed into is sleek black paint.

"My dog or your car?"

"He's with Duck." Dean finally relented. The fury in her eyes calmed as she pocketed her keys and stepped away from the car.

"You made the right choice, Dean." Autumn spun on her heel away from the car and headed toward Duck's cabin.

They pulled into Bushwood, Georgia, just in time for school to let out. The foursome found a motel and settled themselves quickly with Athena perched on the foot of her bed flipping through the phone book searching for Jimmy's home number and address. When she finally found the entry she was ready to set out.

"Teenie, slow your horses." Autumn coaxed sitting pretzel legged on her bed, head phones over her ears and book cradled in her left hand as the fingers of her right enclosed around the silver bullet at her throat.

"Why should we? A kid dies we should move quickly." Athena's gait was still somewhat awkward as she paced impatiently.

"Well, first of all Jimmy disappears and is gone for how many weeks, then shows up in Montana with some weird cult of people who believe they hunt the things that go bump in the night. The boy isn't with his family a month when the young woman who found him shows up on his door step prodding for information about his sister's demise. Doesn't that sound a little fishy to you?"

"Autumn, are you siding with the normies?" Athena accused. Patiently Autumn removed her headphones and turned her music off, closing her book and laying in the bed in front of her before folding her hands in her lap.

"I'm just saying we shouldn't alert his parents to our presence until we have to. They'll think we're here to abduct him and force him into our service or something." Athena narrowed her eyes at her elder sister.

"Autty, you're being completely unreasonable! We aren't some freak devil worshipping cult, we're hunters. This is what we do."

"Yea, I know and so does Jimmy. But very few people believe us, they think we're nuts, I don't want to get his parents on our ass. Wait until tomorrow and we'll go to the school and talk to him. In public where we obviously aren't going to do anything to him. I'm sure the police are still on edge about his sister."

"I'm going to find Sammy." Athena sighed defeated.

"He's just going to tell you the same thing." the red head called after Athena as she left.

"I know you're all in league with each other. Out to ruin poor little Athena." Autumn rolled her eyes and returned to her book and music, intent on not giving in first and seeking Dean's company.

Dean nodded to Athena as she entered the Winchesters' room. "I'm headed for beer you need anything?" he offered.

"Some one to beat my sister senseless." the blonde replied sweetly.

"No can do." Dean answered.

"I wish you two would just forget it. They're just cars." Sam said from his spot on his bed flipping through television channels.

"One day, Sammy, you'll meet a nice car and you'll understand. They're not just cars." Dean warned his brother.

"Dean-o go get your beer." Athena dismissed him. Dean grabbed his keys and darted out the door eager to escape the two younger siblings who showed no respect for the owner/car bond.

"Ready for the rematch?" Sam asked mischief slipping into his wide innocent eyes. It amused Athena to no end that he could have seen and done half of what he had and still maintain that innocent look.

"I was born ready." she answered removing a deck of cards from her pocket and bouncing onto his bed. "We'll use a joker as the old maid."

"Here. Let me deal." he took the deck from her as she struggled to shuffle the cards. "You'd have us here all night."

"Would that be a problem?" she asked matching his feigned annoyance with her own batting her lashes.

"You and Autumn have a fight?" he guessed changing the subject.

"Not really. I just want to find Jimmy and get on with the hunt. I haven't gotten to do any real hunting since well, does Vegas count?" Sam grinned pealing a joker out of the deck and tucking it back into the box.

"So you're trigger happy?" Athena watched his hands as he swiftly dealt out the cards.

"I'm not going to shoot anyone. I just want to do something… Sitting around and doing nothing isn't fun."

"You go first." he suggested looking his hand over and withdrawing his matches. Athena sat her matches in neat piles in front of her. "Did you finish your book?"

"Yea, on the drive." she drew one of his cards matched it to her own and sat it down. "Autty, says there are sequels but I'm not going to bother. Obviously the kid survived, because he's the one the wrote the book."

"Your dedication to the series astounds me." he mocked her.

"We can't all be book-ish, College boy." she teased. "You know this game is only fun with more than two people. We both know I have the old maid."

"We could invite Autumn to play."

"Why, are you afraid of losing to me in yet another game?" they kept playing with out actually noticing their cards as they conversed.

"Did you have another idea on making it interesting?" Athena furrowed her brow thinking as she watched Sam take the joker. "Don't hurt yourself there, Teen."

"Bite me." she stuck her tongue out and pulled a card from his hand. "We could wager something."

"Like what?" he asked obviously intrigued by the idea.

"Hey, I came up with the idea you do the rest, Brain." Sam tilted his head as he thought, she didn't have anything he wanted. Their money seemed to have become a community wallet, and weapons was much the same.

"Dinner." she said as their cards dwindled and he'd still failed to come up with anything.

"Dinner?" he repeated.

"Yes, I win you take me to dinner at a place of my choosing. I'll set it all up all you do is come and pay." she grinned delight evident in her baby blue eyes.

"Okay." he agreed before realizing he only held two cards and one of them was in fact the cursed joker, to put the icing on the cake it was her turn.

"Hmm which card?" she asked drawing the process out her fingers hovering over each card eyes glued on his face searching for a tell that he was refusing to give. "Inky Binky Bonky. Daddy had donkey. Donkey died. Daddy cried. Inky Binky Bonky." she rehearsed pulling a card from his hand when she'd finished. Sam didn't dare look at his hand to see which card remained but Athena's cackle said all he needed to know. She tackled him knocking poor Sam off the bed and landing on his chest.

"Uh, should I come back later?" Autumn asked, suddenly standing in the doorway. John rushed past her to lick Sam's face, anxiously.

"John. John. I'm okay, pup." Sam tried to shove the dog away but couldn't to much in the way of moving with Athena sitting astride his middle. The blonde giggled pulling the dog away and crawling after him. Autumn stepped forward offering him a hand up.

"I came to see what we were doing the rest of the evening." she stated looking at her watch to avoid his face.

"Dean went after beer I don't now about the rest of us." he answered.

"Of course he did." the red haired woman rolled her eyes. "Beer as in a six pack from the 7-Eleven, or a bar?" Sam had no interest in getting into his brother's feud but didn't want to make it worse either way.

"I don't know." he answered seeing her impatience growing. "I'm sure he'll be back soon either way."

"Yea, sis. Dark approaches all the little children will return home soon." Athena sprang up from the ground and teetered a moment before leaning into the wall. John jumped on to Dean's bed and laid down easily taking the whole thing for himself.

"Well, you two seemed to be busy. I'll leave you to it, and run out for pick-up." Autumn left John behind on her retreat from the room.

Autumn returned with their dinners and went to her room, this time taking John with her. She completely ignored Dean and he ignored their prodding to follow her. It wasn't long before they heard her shower come on. Athena ate with them before retiring for the night. Both the Daemons were gone before Sam woke up the next morning, if it hadn't been for the note slid under the door he would have thought they'd abandoned him and his brother. He read the note to find that they'd gone to poke around and that Autumn didn't want the Winchesters to know. So he vowed not to tell Dean of the note, keeping Athena's secret passing along of information.

Sam shook Dean awake and immediately went for a shower, something he'd neglected to do upon arrival. Dean was dressed and fiddling with his cell phone when Sam returned. He stood in the doorway toweling his shagging hair and watched the older Winchester. Dean flipped the phone open dialed a number he knew so well he didn't even look at the digits as he dialed them, but before sending the call he'd close his phone again.

"What's up?" Sam asked deciding not to hide any longer.

"The mustangs gone, have you seen Athena?" Sam hid his smirk in his reply.

"No. Why, Autumn still giving you the silent treatment?"

"You ready? I want a coffee." Dean pretended not to hear her name instead stuffing his cell in his pocket and grabbing his keys off the bed stand. "Let's get the damn hunt over with." he headed out the door muttering under his breath about kids and wild goose chases.

"I bet there is some deep underlying physiological reason for your behavior." Athena said crossing her legs, enjoying the freedom of not being bound by a cast.

"I want you to tell me what all those big words mean now, Barbie." Autumn was in a foul mood and striking out at anything that moved. She pulled up another page in the computer's archives and scanned it with a bored expression.

"You know what I mean, Aut." she dared to use the name only Dean and their dead uncle were allowed to use. Autumn clenched her jaw, and Athena knew if she weren't her sister and they weren't in a library with witnesses that she'd have a gun to her head right now.

"Either research or shut up." Autumn controlled her voice way to much for it to be natural. Her sister didn't relish treading in these troubled waters, but couldn't find away around them and still restore peace to what passed for their family. Athena would never admit it but she liked Dean and Autumn together, it was the first time Autumn had been happy in a romantic relationship, and it was almost like having parents, something Athena had sorely missed out on.

"You deserved it." she muttered before picking up one of the books on Voodoo that the librarian had been kind enough to bring them.

"How do you figure?" the older Daemon spun her chair around to face the younger.

"You know how he is about that car. It's this precious gift from his dad, and you and I both know John's not a considerably giving guy. He thinks of that car the same way you think of the farm back ho-in Pine Crest. It's family and you just don't mess with family." Athena surprised even herself with her level of understanding of Dean's feeling towards his ride.

"He's impossible." Autumn grumbled turning back to her computer.

"If you ask me you both are."

"Have you found anything?" Autumn asked irritably.

"No, you?"

"Well, the town square is supposed to be haunted by a man hung for the brutal beating, rape, and murder of a seventeen year old girl in 1818. After his death evidence came into light that proved him as an innocent man, he was dug up and reburied in the family plot. The things done to the girl sound about like what Jamie said happened to Faith."

"Jimmy." Athena corrected.

"Whatever."

"It's too big a coincidence that what the girls said would happen to Faith happened to her and them be innocent. I'm going to stick to this path."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

When the two classic cars pulled up to the Bushwood High School they caught the eyes of several groups of boys and even a few girls. Athena was the first out leaning against the passenger side door and scanning the lot for Jimmy. The others joined her, though a dozen of the youths in the parking lot matched the description Athena had given them.

"ATHENA!"

"Hey rugrat!" Athena grinned at the boy now running toward their group.

"I told them you'd come." he dropped his book bag and gave the blond woman an awkward stiff hug. "This your crack team of side kicks?" Jimmy teased jerking his head toward the other three hunters.

"We're more like the Fantastic Four, a group of equals than Batman and Robin." Athena amended. "But yea, they're totally my side kicks."

"So I guess you're lucky, then?" Athena gave him a confused look. "You said that the first rule of hunting was everyone leaves, and only if your lucky do they come back. So you're lucky, right?"

"Oh, yea." she avoided Sam's eyes. "This is Dean, his brother Sam, and my sister Autumn."

"I'm Jimmy Forman." his grin spread from ear to ear. "So, you're here to find what killed my sister right?"

"Yea, if school is out we'd like to talk to you. Find out where her body was found." Sam coaxed.

"This isn't school, this is Hell with florescent lighting." Jimmy scrunched his nose up. "But, the She-devil that runs the place has wrung the last bell so I'm free 'till dinner." Autumn looked around wondering what people would think of them taking Jimmy along. "The cops are still kind of freaked, we're all being watched. Why don't you meet me in town in a half hour. I'll get a ride to the court house."

"How are you going to do that?" Athena asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Mom. Emmett'll drive me, he's taking one of his friends and his loony girlfriend there anyway."

"Whose Emmett?" Autumn asked eyeing three teens walking their way, a possessive , almost guard dog look about them.

"The big guy." Jimmy said nodding toward the trio approaching.

"Jimbo, buddy, you okay?" Emmett put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder dragging him back to his side. The girl in the group scooped up his bag handing it to him.

"Yea, dude. These are the people I told you about. The ones I found in Montana, Athena and Autumn Hyde and Dean and Sam Jager."

"Really? Cool." Emmett held out his hand. "I'm Emmett Ryder and these are my friends, Robbie Collins, and his girl Emily Christy." Each of the hunters shook his hand in turn. "Do you really think that Fay's death was… paranormal?" he asked in a low voice dripping with conspiracy.

"Anything's possible." Dean dismissed.

"I need a ride to town square." Jimmy announced. Emmett nodded slinging an arm around the kid.

"Sure thing, cowboy. We'll see you guys later." he started steering Jimmy away towards a old Civic.

"Nice cars, dudes." Robbie said with a half smile lacing his arm around Emily's waist. The poor girl looked like she was about to fall apart at any minute and leaned heavily into her boyfriend.

"Thanks." Autumn and Dean said at the same time before glaring at each other. Emily offered a nervous smile and Robbie tugged her along after him.

"You're little buddy needs to keep his lips sealed." Autumn said turning back to her car.

"What's with the girl?" Dean asked her. Athena shrugged.

"He never said anything about the girl or the other guy."

"We best get moving. He'll be there before we are, and I don't want to get stuck talking to his sentinels." Sam followed Autumn's lead going for the Impala.

"So Emily, what's wrong with her? You said she was loony?" Dean asked as they followed the kid around town square.

"Oh, her mom's a druggie, and dad comes and goes all the time. Mr. Christy has been gone almost two months now and her mom is really losing it. I heard my mom talking, apparently she suffers from severe depression. But Robbie mentioned it to the school counselor trying to find out what he should do to make things easier, and get Mrs. Christy some help. Then it all got drug into court, Emily is fighting not to be sent to her grandparents in Arkansas." Jimmy shrugged a little. "She's been seeing things that past few days. Emmett told me not to tell, he and Robbie think it's just stress."

"What do you think?" Sam inquired using his everybody counts voice.

"I think she's losing it."

"What does she say she's seeing?"

"A guy hanging in the Hanging Tree." he said it dismissively.

"Where's the river?" Athena asked casting about. She was geographically challenged, sure, but she knew what a river looked like even on a map and there wasn't a river near here.

"Downtown. Where we're going." Jimmy answered in a 'duh' tone.

"You keep a whole river downtown?" Athena insisted.

"Oh! Not like water. It's an old boarding house, the widow who opened it was named River, well her last name. I don't know how but it just got to be known as The River, after a while."

"Anyone live there now?" Autumn asked breaking her self imposed silence.

"Nah, it's a historical building. Someone did it up like a museum when I was little."

The River looked like a small apartment building. Red brick, with tattered yellow caution tape blocking the walk and over the front door. Jimmy led them around to the back entrance and produced a key from his pocket. He let them in and pulling his sleeve over his hand flipped on a light switch. He motioned for them to follow him up stairs to small bedroom. It was just as it would have been when boarders had rented in in the early 1900's save more yellow caution tape.

"Martha would love this." Athena said in awe as she looked around. A writing desk sat under the window, a bed smaller than most twin beds was pressed into the corner with a cedar chest at its foot. A dresser was on the opposite wall just far enough from the tiny closet that the door would open and shut easily.

"Jimmy, you okay buddy?" Dean asked turning around to see that the boy had shrunk into the hallway and wasn't coming in the room.

"Yea, Dean. But if you don't mind, I'm not coming in." he sounded so small. Dean shot Autumn a look silently commanding her to tend to the boy. She ignored him pulling her EMF reader.

"Can you show me and Sam around, maybe answer some questions?" Athena asked gently reaching out to him.

"Yea, sure." he nodded grateful for a reason to get away from the room. Autumn gave Athena a pleading look begging her to stay or at least not take Sam.

"You two see if you can't work things out." she said denying her sister's request. "Come on, Sammy."

"You getting anything?" Dean asked when the others' voices disappeared.

"No, it's not on. I didn't want it going off and the kid getting worse than he already is." she answered bitterly.

"Who lit the fuse to your tampon?"

"Ha Ha." she switched her hand held reader on and it went wild. "So this is defiantly our kind of thing."

"What tipped you off?"

"Can you be nice?" Autumn asked pushing past him and to see where the reader would stop going off.

"I'll try to be nice if you try being smarter." he said following her.

"Oh, yea. That coming from the guy who barely graduated high school."

"Autumn." he growled warningly.

"What Dean?" she snapped. Dean threw his hands up.

"I give up. You win."

"Thanks, but we're not fighting."

"Really? It sure as hell seems like it to me!"

"That's weird." Autumn stopped not four feet outside the room.

"You're ignoring me, every time you look at me you're glaring. When you do speak to me its just sarcasm."

"No, that's not what I mean." she said. "It just stops." Autumn indicated to the EMF reader in her hand. "I mean usually you pick it up at a distance and it builds as you get closer. This just goes nuts all around the room, at the same level then stops." Dean looked around the short hallway.

"There's only one other room at this end." he nodded to the door directly across from the one Faith had been found in.

"Let's check it out." Dean struggled to get the door open. A velvet rope stood in their way once the door was open, on a stand just behind it was a small plate. "This is the room where Ariel Watson was found murdered in 1818. Two men were hung for her death. The first Gerhard Steinbecker lived across the hall and was later found innocent." Autumn read allowed.

"I think we just found a suspect."

"Did Jimmy sing any pretty tunes?" Autumn threw herself into her bed. She hadn't expected fighting with Dean to be so exhausting.

"Nothing I haven't already heard. I was thinking, maybe we should talk to Emily. If the girl is seeing things like that it might not be just stress." John jumped into bed with Autumn nuzzling the back of her neck as she stared into her pillow.

"Faith was found just across the hall from the murder vic I read about this morning."

"Oh yea?" Athena was bustling around the room getting ready for a shower before bed. After looking the River over, they'd gone for a bite and then a little more research at the library though, it didn't prove very fruitful.

"So you still sticking to your story?" Autumn flipped over onto her back.

"Until I see something that proves otherwise. If it's just a spirit, Autty, what woke it up and why Faith?" the blond prodded.

"Give me some time." her sister yawned. "I'll figure it out."

"Autumn, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot, squirt."

"Why are you being so rough on Dean? He was only joking, just like you. No harm, no foul."

"Good night, Teenie." Autumn crawled under the blankets and closed her eyes with another yawn.

**A/N: I don't know if anyone caught it but Jager means Hunter in German. I'm going to stop here for tonight I'll have chapter four up tomorrow, or the next day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, I tripped over a story the otherday that's not getting the reviews it deserves so if you have the time head over and check out Soul Sucker by ****jeweled luv**.

**Chapter Four**

"Dean, what do you think of Athena?" The Daemon girls had been gone before they got up again, Athena slipping Sam a note so he'd know they were okay. Dean stopped, fork midway to his mouth and stared at him a moment.

"Why, Sam?" he asked coyly.

"We made a bet, and I lost." Dean shrugged his fork finishing it's flight.

"I doubt she cheated, Sammy. What'd you bet on?"

"Old Maid. Dude chew with your mouth shut." He proceeded to open his mouth revealing the full on horror of chewed up pancakes. "Real mature."

"Isn't it?" Sam stared into his orange juice wondering how much he should divulge about the bet, and his time with Athena. "So how much you lose?"

"A dinner." Now he was interested.

"Is she including dessert?" Sam rolled his eyes. "Athena's a hot little number. Back with that boogeyman I'd been aiming for her."

"I shouldn't have said anything." Dean watched his brother sink down in his booth.

"Dinner where?"

"She said I just come and pay she'll handle the rest. What does that mean?"

"Got me, man. I'd don't do that." Sam sighed and mixed the melted butter swirls into the syrup left on his plate. "She give you any hints?" Dean asked playing concerned brother.

"Nope."

"Come on, Sammy. The two of you are super glued together. She hasn't ever mentioned her favorite food or restaurant?"

"We aren't glued together." Sam protested suddenly feeling the need to defend himself.

"You two run through the training stuff together at Jen's, you disappear for a drive or a walk, when we're out on hunts you slip into each other's rooms just to talk. You are always together."

"We live together, Dean."

"I know, and I don't spend half as much time with her as you do. I'm just saying you two are together a lot you should know what to expect. Open your eyes and pay attention, College-boy." The elder Winchester flagged down their waitress, an older lady with a tight bun of silver hair protruding from the top of her head, and paid for their breakfast. "Come on, I want to see something before school lets out."

"Emily?" the round woman behind the desk asked. Autumn nodded and squatted down to be level with the secretary.

"I need to speak with her. It has been brought to my attention that… Well there is some new evidence in her case and I need to talk to her immediately." she let the woman believe she had more information than she really did.

"What sort of evidence?" Autumn knew that would be the next question, she pretended to straighten her blazer and look important.

"I'm not at liberty to say. May I please see her?" she paused a moment watching Ms. Jefferson the high school secretary think about her options. "I love you hair color by the way. It's natural isn't it?" There was no way it could be, the woman's hair was inky black with thin streaks of silver weaving their way through close to the scalp.

"No, I dye it." she shook her head sadly. "God made me a blonde," she grinned. "The rest of my family had dark curls mine was straight as can be and honey colored."

"Well, it's beautiful anyway."

"Thank you. I'm always worried it looks too fake."

"Not at all." Autumn allowed another short span of silence before pushing on. "Miss Christy please?"

"Oh, yes of course."

The secretary led Autumn and Athena into a conference room off the main office and soon Emily joined them. Autumn hadn't paid much attention to the girl the previous day but made sure to take a good look now. Emily had strawberry blonde waves of hair, sad green eyes, she wore a plaid skirt and matching sweater, and the collar of her white oxford folded neatly around her neck, with a simple golden cross laying n her chest. She had a look about her that made you just want to reach out and hug her or at least tell her everything would be alright.

"Ms. Jefferson said you were with the courts. That's illegal you know, impersonating people of the law." Emily said sitting down across the table from Autumn. "If I told Chief Forman you'd be in jail before you could blink."

"Chief Forman?" Athena looked up from where she was leaning against the wall.

"Yes, Jimmy's dad." Emily said slowly as if she were talking to very young children.

"We want to talk to you about the things you've been seeing." Autumn interjected before either of her youngers had time to spin completely out of her control.

"What do you mean?" Emily was quiet but the way she held herself made it clear she could handle herself. From what Jimmy had said about her family she was probably used to talking to cops.

"We heard you've seen things in a tree outside the court house?" Autumn continued.

"I'm under a lot of stress. I'll just chill out this weekend and be fine."

"Maybe, or it could keep going and someone else could get hurt. So why don't you humor me and tell me what you saw."

"Do… Do you really hunt ghosts and stuff like Jim says?"

"Yes." Athena answered impatiently earning herself a glare from Autumn.

"So you … Faith was a strange girl, kind of wall paper but different. Emmett noticed because he was like that before he moved here, or something. When the two of them started dating under the guise of him getting tutored it ruffled a few feathers. Mostly ditzy cheerleaders, nothing too dangerous. I didn't like it much either but Robbie and Mett are friends so I would talk with Faith, when no one was around. Some of the girls started talking about hazing Fay. Not really hurting her but scaring her enough that she would leave Emmett alone.

"Then one of them gets the bright idea to do a séance. You know, like for fun. It had nothing to do with Faith they just wanted to do it because they were bored I guess. They wanted to do it in the old boarding house downtown. I wouldn't go with them, I don't like that stuff, to easy to be real."

"The River, where they found Faith?"

"Yea." Emily snorted.

"What's funny?" Athena asked.

"Nothing its just a few days before Faith died I saw her dead in the Hanging Tree. Just like they found her too. It was freaky. Then like the other day I saw this guy in the tree. He wasn't dead yet just hanging there."

"Did you recognize him?" Autumn asked attentively.

"Yea."

"Who was it?" Athena stood a little straighter ready to find the man and protect him from whatever evil was out there.

"We all know his face. It was this big thing in our town's history. We killed the wrong guy in a serial murder case by acting too quickly. We did finally get the right guy a year later or something."

"So, he's already dead?" Autumn stopped herself short of reaching across the table and taking Emily's hand in hers. The girl looked scared out of her wits.

"Yea, a long time ago." A bell rang out in the hall and all three of the room's occupants jumped. "I've got AP English this period."

"Go to class, Emily. If we need you will find you." Athena promised dismissing the teen and fixing a look on her sister.

The sisters followed Emily out the door parting ways at the entrance. Neither said a word until they reached the Mustang. Athena propped her feet up on the dash and rolled down her window sticking her arm out.

"Feet off the dash." Autumn reached over and smacked her sister, as she backed out of her space.

"Gawd, what's eating you?" Athena grinned. "Or is it who's not eating you?"

"Oh that's just gross." the older woman made a face.

"Yea, but we both know its true. You've been all bitchy since he egged your poor wittle car."

"Athena, shut up."

"What do you think is going on here? You don't think Emily is like Sam do you?"

"No, she don't follow the pattern. You can't still believe this is voodoo."

"Nah, those girls summoned something. We just need to find out how they control it."

"Maybe they're not controlling it. If it's the same guy that killed the girl before, and Emily said he was a serial killer, then maybe he's back to his old games."

"He's not a serial killer."

"And your crybaby whiny-assed opinion would be...?"

"I'm thinking on the same page as you, here Autty. I'm just saying the first serial killer didn't come until later. He may have killed others but not the same way each time. You need an attitude adjustment."

"What time is it?"

"11."

**A/N: Righto, I'm going to the farm to take care of my animals now, when I get back tonight I'll work on Chapter 5. We'll get to see Athena's idea of dinner with Sammy... You might want to bring a helmet and saftey pads to that.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, I'm disappointed in myself with how short the past two chapters have been. But since my mother still isn't home with the truck so we can go get feed I'm working on this. **

**Chapter Five**

Dean and Sam were sitting in the back of the library pouring over old new papers that covered the 1818 murder and comparing them to those article about Faith Forman's murder. The details were hauntingly similar. Neither of them put any eggs in the Voodoo basket anymore. It was definitely a spirit from where they were standing. After breakfast they'd come straight here to compare the two murders and the quiet, unseen, back corner is where they sat when Athena plopped down on their table, Autumn standing not far off arms crossed over her chest.

"Where you been?" Dean asked looking at Autumn.

Before she could come back with a retort Athena answered "We went to school."

"Learn anything?"

"Emily Christy saw Faith dead before they found her body and she saw the first guy, Gerhard, get hung just a few days ago." Athena answered again. "And the girls Jimmy thought did voodoo, really did a séance."

"You're joking?" Dean finally looked away from Autumn to search Athena's face for some hit of a joke.

"I wish." Autumn stepped up to the table. "Our girls have dipped into the wrong dark art. Athena still wasn't sure we're dealing with a spirit." She sent her sister a pointed look before continuing. "But I don't see how it could be anything else, now."

"No, you're right." Dean admitted. "So we need to watch Emily, incase she happens across anymore insights. What do you have on Gerhard and the real killer, Aut?" Autumn fought the smile the tried to force its way onto her face.

"Not much, just what we already know. I'll run a search if you like."

"Yea, you do that. Athena, you're Jimmy's friend you're less likely to get caught following him and Emily around, you go watch them." Autumn dug her keys from her pocket and tossed them to her sister. "Sam and I will find out where these people are buried."

"The local cemetery, Dean." Autumn said in a duh tone. "Gerhard and Ariel were immigrants they were only in the boarding house until they got married or could afford a house."

"So the real killer, Taylor Blake, where's he?" Dean challenged.

"I don't know, I was just telling you where the other two were." Athena sighed heavily to break the tension.

"Come on, Sam." Dean broke away from his stare down and stalked toward the door, Athena and Sam on his heels.

"Taylor Blake was a she." Autumn grinned sliding into the booth next to Athena.

"That explains why we couldn't find him in any cemetery records." Sam waved for the waitress to come take Autumn's order. They'd all gathered at the diner up the street from their motel. It was hard to get Athena to come of detail for dinner but not impossible since she hadn't eaten since breakfast just after dawn.

"Sam I need you tomorrow night. I'm collecting on our bet." Athena said with a smirk.

"Where we going?" Sam inquired.  
"You'll see. Just be ready to go at seven." Conversation died quickly when the waitress came and Autumn put in her order, she had walked from the library, and shown up several minutes after the rest of her group. "Can you children behave if we leave you home alone?"

"I think we can manage." Dean answered eyeing Autumn as if she might spring across the table and bite him at any moment.

"Sis?" Athena prodded further.

"I'll be good, Teenie. You two leaving town?"

"Nah, we'll be close." Athena assured her sister. "I can't go and leave you behind, besides would either of you let us take a car out of town?"

"No." both Autumn and Dean said at the same time.

"So we're sticking close." Athena summed up. "What will you two be doing?" she ventured after their food appeared and they'd all settled into an uncomfortable silence.

"Nothing." again their voices rang out together. Sam and Athena both bit back a snicker when their elders turned deadly glares on each other.

"Go in there get undressed." Athena ordered shoving Sam towards the bathroom.

"I don't get it. What's wrong with what I'm wearing." he protested leaning back into her as she pushed him along.

"I didn't date guys in the chess club in high school and I sure as hell ain't dating them now." she explained fingers going for the buttons of his shirt.

"I can do this on my own." he batted her way.

"Good, I was afraid I was going to have to dress you." she turned on her heel headed for his bag. "I was never good at dressing Barbies, they always ended up with their clothes on inside out and backward. Martha said they just had too much fun with Ken in the back seat of the damn jeep." She dug through his bag of clothes while he undressed behind the bathroom door. "Here." she shoved her arm in the tiny room with him. A pair of faded blue jeans and concert-T hooked over her finger.

"It's not a date either." he reminded her.

"Oh you know what I meant, Paul Bunyan"

"Are you ever going to tell me where you're taking me?" Athena let a pause hang in the air a moment pretending to think.

"No, I don't think so. Heck, Dean's go bandanas out here right?" she pounced on Dean's bag ignoring, as the so often did, all rules of privacy. "Yep, here's one." she emerged with a simple red bandana, the traditional pattern and folded uncharacteristically neat. Athena gave it a shake as Sam came out of the bathroom donning his new outfit. A string of condoms fell out making them both blush when they saw the foil wrapped rubbers lying on the floor between them. "Well, at least we know he has them now." Athena attempted in a light tone dropping to her knees to pick the condoms up and stuff them back in Dean's bag.

"Uh, maybe we should… umm… Get moving." Sam suggested.

"Yea, definitely don't want to be here when Dean sees that those have been tampered with." she tossed Sam his hoodie, grabbing her jean jacket and draping it over her shoulders.

The town was easy to navigate, with its clean streets all falling right into place in a way only small town folks can respect. The moon shone full and heavy in the sky, stars twinkling all around it in the violet-black back drop of the universe. Athena buried a million poems school and Autumn had poured into her head over the years about the beauty of the sky. Tonight's festivities were purely platonic and members of a platonic relationship weren't supposed to recite poetry to each other. Sam sat stiffly in the front seat of the Mustang staring out the window trying to figure out where she was taking him. In all honesty she couldn't believe she was going where she was.

Bushwood had a grand total of four acceptable youth related dating scenes, three of which were severely dated. The little movie theater that had recently expanded and was now capable of displaying three different movies, a drive-in restaurant where the waiters still wore skates, a bowling alley, and Athena's personal favorite, the skating rink. She'd spent more than her fair share of time on wheels growing up. Athena couldn't begin to count the number of times she'd held onto the lead of a goat at the Church petting zoo letting the animal pull her across the pavement, or jumped out of the back end of her friends pick-ups linked arm in arm as they drove down the abandoned street in front of the school in the summer. Skating was something she'd always loved, and something her 'accident' prone sister had never mastered.

"You've got to me kidding me." Athena grabbed Sam's hand dragging him toward the entrance. "I don't skate, Teenie."

"Sure you do." she turned a bright smile on him pushing through the door tugging him along.

"Okay, I don't know how." Sam admitted. Athena stopped and looked at him before leaning her head into his chest fighting off rolls of laughter threatening to engulf her.

"Then I'll teach you, Samster." she recovered pulling away, leaving a warm place on Sam's chest. "Seven and a half." she slapped her hand on the counter grabbing the attention of a greasy boy of maybe sixteen, who was slumped over his Game Boy. The kid jumped to action going for her skates, there wasn't even the option of roller blades and the skates had seen their prime in the early eighties.

"What can I get cha dah'ling?" a woman strongly resembling the slug like secretary from Monster's Inc strutted up chewing her gum nosily. When Sam begrudgingly told her his shoe size she turned to Athena bouncing her eyebrows, which desperately needed to be plucked. "You know what they say about men with big feet?"

"Yes, but I promise you it's not true." Athena answered smoothly. The woman gave a shrug and disappeared after Sam's skates.

"You're as bad as Dean." Sam gripped when they'd found seats to put on their skates. "And this isn't even food related."

"There's a food stand in the back." Athena offered, distractedly lacing her second skate on as tight as she could stand around her ankle. "Besides, you could always prove me wrong and show me." she grinned slinging herself to her feet. Athena rolled a few feet away arms out to catch her balance. She spun back around and easily glided back to him. "Just like riding a bike."

"I never did to much bike riding either."

"But you can ride one right?" Sam shrugged, looking at his feet.

"Next time I'll take you bike riding then."

"I've never done any mountain climbing can we do that too?" He asked sarcastically, to his surprise she nodded her smile reaching her eyes for the first time since she'd been kidnapped.

"Of course, anything for my Sammy." she held her hand out to him helping his to his feet. "You got it there?" she asked as he wobbled.

"I don't know."

"Lean on me, then, till you get your balance." she slowly started moving them towards the large rink in the center of the building.

"I feel like an idiot." Sam grumbled.

"You look like one too."

"You're not helping." Athena slid a hand behind him finding the small of his back as she stopped them both. She put her other hand on his abdomen and held him still.

"Relax, if you keep so tense you're going to look ridiculous, and fall. I'd rather you just do one of those at a time. I can only make up for so much." she steadied him and slowly let go though she didn't move too far from him. "It's almost like walking. You just need to take it slow." she took his hands and skating backward instructed him on how to move his feet as she pulled him into the rink. Once inside she put him on the edge with a rail, and all the little kids in their fisher price plastic skates. "Hold on to this I want to make a lap real fast. You keep practicing." Sam watched Athena as she retreated from him each movement flowing fluidly into the next. She made it look impossibly easy. As she picked up speed she removed the large clip that had been holding her hair up and let it fly out behind her. It wasn't fair, she could skate and looked good doing it.

"Come in." Autumn knew it was Dean. The other two had gone, and no one else knew she was here. John bound toward him tackling the man and coving him in wet kisses. She felt a distinct wave of jealousy, the dog was taking over her job.

"I was going to the bar, wanted to see if you'd like to come?" she shook her head and readjusted the lap top on her lap.

"No, the town has their cemetery records online, I was looking for our Taylor Blake. When I find her I'm going to work on my story. I haven't been doing too much writing recently." This was more than they'd said to each other since 'it' happened.

"You sure?"

"Yea, I'll be fine." Dean hesitated at the door, halfway between staying and going.

"Aut, are we okay?" she couldn't look him in the eye but not doing so would have been worse. She settled for staring at the bridge of his nose.

"We will be." the auburn haired woman on the motel bed before him sucked in her lip chewing at it. Dean knew this meant she had something to say but wasn't sure if she should. He shut the door coming inside, and finding a place on Athena's bed, John begging for attention at his feet. "The girls called earlier." she met his eyes and he felt the jolt of electricity that until Autumn he thought could only be passed through touch. "Kayla's having these horrible nightmares. She keeps waking up in the middle of the night talking about the yellow eyed man." Dean tensed up, a much larger part of him than he'd expected wanted to run back to Ohio and comfort the girl. Promising her that the yellow eyed man would never hurt her again.

"What is she saying about him?"

"This stays between us. I haven't told Sam or Athena." he nodded agreeing fully, he didn't want the younger pair worrying over this. It could be nothing, he lied to himself. "She says he's telling her that 'bad things' are coming and her 'heroes will die'."

"Is she okay? Do you need to go to her?" Autumn gave him a weak smile.

"I don't know where that kid gets it. But she's fine, she sounded scared but she kept telling me I didn't need to worry because she had her sisters and they'd take care of her. That she knew we would find the man and make him pay for hurting her mommy. I guess he told her that part, because I was careful not to let her know."

"She gets it from her aunt. For those three to have been through all of this and be… They've got a lot of you in them, Aut."

"Go to your bar. I'm need to get this work done." she leaned forward patting his knee. They hadn't made up, but maybe they'd found a truce.

**A/N: it's almost 2 AM, So I'm going to go to bed and post this first thing tomorrow. I'll work on getting you Chapter Six as soon as possible. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **

**Chapter Six**

Athena laughed offering a hand up, again. Sam had passed the tolerating-for-her-sake stage three falls ago. Now he was just trying to get out of the exit without breaking anything vital to existence.

"Do you think, maybe we could eat?" he asked as the lights went out and a disco ball descended from the ceiling.

"Yea, I fear for the children with you out here in the dark." she teased lacing her fingers in his and easily leading them out of the rink towards the back corner where tables and chairs were set up next to a unpromising concession stand. "You okay?" she asked sitting him down.

"Yea, I'm peachy. Think I broke my tail bone on that last fall but I'm fine." she sat across the table from him.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I shouldn't have made you come. I thought it would be fun."

"You know that's not fair." she feigned innocence. "Going pound puppy on me to get what you want."

"You're one to talk! I'd like to see you go one day with out the Sam Winchester Patented Puppy-dog look."

"Here," he pulled his wallet out.

"No, Sam. I've got it. Don't worry about it." she pushed his money away. "You've got a lot of choices, pizza that's been under a heat lamp for the past hour or week, a rubbery hot dog, or nachos?"

"Nachos and a coke." Athena reached out brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Don't go any where I'll be right back."

Dean stopped right outside Autumn and Athena's motel room door. The mustang still wasn't back, so neither were Athena and Sam, he had no reason to worry about them. They had an arsenal in the trunk of the Ford, and each other. He'd never given any thought to leaving Autumn here alone with her dog, not in this pin prick of a town. But now he was second guessing himself. John was just inside the room growling low and menacingly, the sound of a scuffle too clearly seeping under the door. Dean retrieved the gun from the back of his jeans and kicked the door open.

"Easy John." Autumn was on the ground staring up at the door, her arm in John's mouth. "What the hell are you doing Winchester?"

"I.. uh… What are you doing?" she ran the fingers of her free hand over the dog's muzzle and he released her arm, Autumn wiped the drool on her jeans as she climbed to her feet.

"I was playing with my dog. We're not the only ones that need to practice or we'll get rusty." Dean took in the scratches and bite marks up and down Autumn's arms, her flushed face, and the mess of red locks that had escaped their pony tail.

"He's a dog! If instinct took over" he could bring himself to state what could happen.

"As far as he's concerned I'm pack leader. Unlike people, dogs aren't just going to take out their leader for fun. Leader stays intact unless it shows a deadly weakness." John's tail was beating the ground as he sat watching the pair's argument.

"Let me see you're arms." Dean stepped forward taking hold of her hand and was surprised when she didn't pull away. "He got you good here." He let his fingers trace over the only place where blood had escaped through the tears in her flesh.

"That's where you burst in. Scared the shit out of us." Dean gently turned her arm over examining the damage. It wasn't too bad, wouldn't come close to scarring.

"Have you heard from Sam or Athena?"

"Yea, they just finished eating they'll be back in a few minutes."

"Did you find Blake?"

"Uh huh, she was buried in an unmarked grave, but her family came down and put a stone in for her. She's in the furthest back corner of the yard. I looked at a map of the place, you can get her dug up and burned and no one will be able to see you unless they're in the cemetery with you." she nodded toward her computer. "Gerhard was cremated, he had papers drawn up just before they hung him saying he wanted burned. Ariel was the victim, I don't think this is her, do you?" Dean got up going to the bathroom to get something to clean her arm up.

"No, but better safe than sorry."

"So when is the big baddie gonna show up?" Dean emerged from the bathroom with a wet wash cloth. He didn't answer while he wiped down her arm and looked at the little pin holes that lined up with John's teeth.

"Have you always wrestled with the dog?"

"More or less. When he was a puppy I had to he was high strung and we didn't have any other pups on hand. Though he tried with one of the hunter's raccoons… Hundred dollars to buy a raccoon. It's insane." Autumn grinned. "He's not broke skin in a long time."

Athena tossed Sam another apologetic look over breakfast. For the first time since they'd arrived in Bushwood they'd actually all consented to a meal together for a reason beyond hunting. In fact there was no real reason. Sam and Athena hadn't stumbled in until almost midnight the previous night, leaving their older siblings to sit up worrying and earning themselves a lecture.

"I told you, things that big shouldn't be put on wheels." Autumn ducked when Sam reached across the table to smack her upside the head.

"Be nice, Autty." Athena pouted. "Sam had a rough night."

"I wish you'd had a camera." Dean chuckled at the idea of his brother on skates. "I'd love to see that."

"I'm never playing with you again." Sam swore. "You take my checker's title, then you make a fool of me with Old Maid."

"Sammy, honey, it's okay. No one can beat the incredible Athena. I'm unstoppable." Athena was starting to bounce in her seat again.

"Eat your eggs Miss Incredible." Autumn scolded.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then I'll beat you with a wet noodle. Why'd you order them runny anyway? That's like eating snot."

"How many times have you eaten snot, Aut?" Dean asked stealing her bacon.

"Shut up." Autumn sank down in her chair running her toast over her plate picking up the remains of her eggs.

"Um, excuse me?" the table's occupants all looked up to see a very pale Emily standing there, Robbie and Emmett not far off. Emmett holding an hand on Jimmy's shoulder to keep him in place.

"Here sit." Dean kicked a chair out for her to sit with them.

"What's up?" Athena asked eager to hear something juicy.

"I had another… waking nightmare." she eased herself down into the chair watching them as if at any minute they would strike out.

"You want to talk about it here?" Autumn asked, gently leaning forward and taking the girl's hand.

"Yea, I need to get to school." she shift again uncomfortable I her spot. Jimmy was fidgeting and Athena shot him a look making him stop moving and wait. "It's coming after me now. They're controlling it. They go an talk to it then it does what they want. They're going to frame the guys for it too." Emily said in a rush.

"By it you mean the spirit right?" Sam asked the only one able to follow her confession. Emily nodded sadly. "Okay, do you know when?" he skipped over the just as important detail of who 'they' were.

"No, but it's night when it comes."

"Who are they?" Autumn jumped to the next question ready to go destroy some alter.

"The cheerleaders." Emily said with a wry smirk.

"See, Autty! I told you cheerleaders are the spawn of Satan." Athena grinned. "No body looks that good in high school, it's not natural."

"Shut up, Teenie and remember you tried out for cheerleading." Autumn chided glaring at her sister. Athena saw Dean stow this information a way for teasing later. "Okay, hun, you know where they meet the spirit at?"

"There's a house outside town, a little shack of a place. You can't miss it if you take Main Street out of here. It's Taylor Blake's place."

"Boys, come here!" Dean called the boys over. They stood awkwardly in front of the hunters, behind their friend. Robbie ran his fingers through Emily's hair and waited for his orders. "One of you is to be with her at all times. Walk her to and from classes. Where ever she goes after school you go. Autumn give them our numbers." Athena produced a memo pad and pen from her pocket and Autumn quickly scribbled down the four cell numbers. "If anything happens you call us. Where are you staying, Em?"

"She stayed with me last night." Robbie answered for her. "She can again tonight if it'll make things easier."

"That'd be best." Dean nodded. Autumn handed Jimmy the slip of paper watching the four teens carefully, the boys all stood protectively around Emily.

"When this is over will they stop?" she locked eyes with Sam, as if she knew he was plagued with the same demons.

"I hope so." Sam answered.

"Go to school, you're safer there." Dean dismissed them.

**A/N: So this is the shortest chapter yet, but I'll have 7 up soon so it really don't matter. This one is moving REALLY fast. But I'm getting a lot of feedback... see how much that helps guys?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: If I was smart I'd slow this down, because I have even less of an idea where or what the next hunt will be. I'll have to pull out my list... Maybe Big Foot can cause some problems in the Hamptons? It's getting close enough to spring break maybe I'll send them to Miami for something... I don't know. Any thoughts you might have would be nice.**

**Chapter Seven **

"Special situations warrant breaking certain rules, Dean." Athena shrugged as they dispersed from the diner.

"But in a town this small that's unheard of." he argued further. "Aut?" Dean tried to pull Autumn's opinion on the high school couple living together.

"My high school boyfriend was my adopted brother, I don't judge these kids. When your parents aren't around to do their job you have to find security somewhere. Boyfriends are easy prey." Autumn dismissed the topic turning to Sam, the only other member of their group not interested in arguing about the personal lives of their innocents. "We splitting up? Someone here to watch the kids, someone goes and checks the Blake place and someone go dig her up and burn her?"

"The kids'll be fine Autty, if Blake has to watch over the alter and her grave she won't have time to single Emily out." Sam promised.

"Yea, but I can't help but feel like we're missing something." she looked around as if there would be a big blue paw print on something to point them in the right direction.

"Well, lets destroy whatever they've got back at the house, and her body, if she's still around after that…" Athena trialed off.

"We keep Emily with us until we find out what's grounding the bitch." Dean finished. "Now who wants to dig?"

"Not it!" Athena and Sam chimed.

"We did it last time." Athena reminded her elders who were glaring daggers at them.

"Fine." Autumn sighed. "You'd never find the grave anyway." Autumn didn't bother waiting on Dean to not give Sam and Athena the keys to the Impala she just tossed them hers. "If you need us"

"Call. Same goes for you." Sam called over his shoulder unlocking the Mustang. Dean moved to the trunk of the Impala checking to make sure he had everything needed to salt 'n' burn, while the others climbed into their respective rides.

Autumn still wanted to be mad at Dean. It would make things so much easier, after a while they'd fall into some sort of normalcy but she wouldn't have to worry about that little voice in her head. But sitting in the car so close to him that the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, was unnerving. It wasn't surprising though, that he had no idea how to handle this post fight awkwardness. What experience did either of them have with a normal, healthy, relationship?

"You ready?" he asked handing her the gas can, and shovel, careful that they didn't touch.

"Does it matter?" if he wasn't going to jump to fixing things neither was she.

"Aut," he started but she brushed past him. Autumn just wanted to get this girl dug up so Emily would be relatively safe again.

"This is her." Dean knelt down to look at the stone, confirming what she already knew. The headstone was a simple square with Taylor Blake date of death and date of birth engraved in it. No prayer or 'here lays a daughter of Eve', even her family hadn't thought much of her.

"Let's dig."

"Hold this, will ya?" Sam moved the screen door away offering it to Athena, before he started on the lock. "The girls aren't stupid." he said examining the lock, it was heavier duty than needed to keep people out of an abandoned house.

"That's a first for cheerleaders." Athena said with just a touch more sarcasm than necessary.

"Did you really try out?" She made a point of not looking at him, pretending to be sweeping the area.

"In Jr. High, I did. My last attempt to prove I wasn't just Autumn's kid sister."

"Didn't go so well?"

"No, it went great. Right up until the first game. We go out for half time to do our little cheer, I see all those eyes on my and throw up on the Marcy Urban, the lead cheerleader." Athena giggled at the thought. "Mrs. Morton had this huge supper that night, steak, baked potatoes, green beans, fresh baked bread I had three helpings and they covered Marcy. She got me back though."

"How?"

"She got knocked up our senior year, I happened to be in her path as she ran out of lab." Sam smirked hearing the satisfying click of the padlock.

"Come on." the door swung open and on all alerts the two hunters entered.

"Creepy." Athena appraised. There were few differences in this abandoned house, and that's a term that should be used loosely, and Sage's. Most of those differences being in the depletion and symbols drawn on the wall in an unmistakable red liquid.. Broken chairs had been stood back up leaning against each other on the far wall. "Look at that." she pointed to the corner of the ceiling.

"What?" Sam had expected to see something instead there was absolutely nothing in the corner.

"They got rid of the cobwebs." He wished she hadn't moved so far from him, but Athena was now moving freely through the four rooms that completed the house, everyone of which connected. "Think it's real?" she asked fingers hovering just over the red of a particularly badly drawn pentagram.

"I don't know. But they had no idea what they were doing." he looked the walls over with total interest. Beyond a creepy effect, the girls hadn't accomplished much else. At least if you knew what they'd drawn meant.  
"They're all guarding, and protection charms." Athena looked at him perplexed. She moved on to a door on the wall left of the front door. "And this is locked." Sam saw her eyes gleam with excitement. "Want to bet what's in here?"

"I'm not betting you anymore." he answered striding to her side. The lock was old and easily overridden. Sam eased the door open, and a stench suddenly assaulted him. The putrid smell of rotting flesh was enough to make his stomach churn. Athena held back waiting for him to enter, he swept his gun over the room, but nothing moved or even offered the hint of a threat. They were standing in a small, windowless bedroom. A large mirrored vanity was pressed against the east wall, a bed directly in front of them, to the left of its head stood a dresser, but the source of the smell was lying on the bed. Pulling their shirts over their noses and mouths, they crossed the expanse between them and the bed.

"Five bucks says this is Emily's missing daddy." Athena brushed her fingertips over the man's forehead making strawberry blonde locks bend against her touch.

"Why would she send us to find her dad?"

"Damn." Athena swore under her breath turning to the open closet next to the vanity. "Did we find our alter?"

Candles melted into place on a turned over wooden crate draped in black cloth, sat under a massive assortment of pictures. Old photographs of Taylor Blake, Ariel Watson, and Gerhard Stienbecker were mixed with those of Faith Forman, and Emily Christy were taped to the wall over a goblet filled to the brim with clotting blood and hair.

"Sam?" Athena reached back catching his hand.

"Why would they have used sod on an old grave like this?" Dean grumbled.

"Someone is hiding something." Autumn answered kicking the sod after they'd dropped it. "See the ground has been turned up." Sure enough, where the sod had been was a what every recently covered grave looks like.

"Who would want to have a face to face with Blake?" he asked reaching for his shovel, even more determined to get this woman dug up and burned.

"I just hope she's still down here."

It took the better part of two hours to get through the shallow grave to the decaying wooden coffin. Neither of the two spoke the entire time, other than swearing and cursing as they preformed the back breaking work. Autumn pulled herself out of the hole giving Dean more room to maneuver. He didn't bother opening the lid instead he kicked through it.

"Much pent up anger, there Dork?"

"Nah." he shook his head. "Hello, Taylor." he crouched down to get a better look at their body. "She looks to be all here." he called up after breaking away more of the coffin. "Let's torch this bitch."

"Gas." Autumn handed him the container. Dean liberally coated the corpse. "Salt." she exchanged the gas can for the salt.

"Hand?" Dean asked standing helplessly in a gas and salt filled grave.

"Hand." she took his arm and drug him out of the hole, quickly rolling out from under him when the collapsed in a heap.

She extracted a match book from her jeans and lighting one dropped them in. A whoosh of hot air escaped past them and the two hunters sat down to wait on the bones to burn.

"Call, Dean." Sam instructed leading Athena back into the front room away from the smell. Rags had been pressed against the bottom of the door stopping the smell. But now the smell filled the whole house. Athena didn't waste time removing her phone and dialing the number. "What the hell is going on in this town?" he ran his fingers through a mess a dark brown hair and Athena watched envying them.

"Dean."

"Hey, we've got a few complications here." Athena said removing her eyes from Sam to pay attention to her phone call.

**A/N: again, short. I'm sorry. But I need to get to bed and really wanted to post this tonight. But at least I gave you pleanty to think on for the time being. Much love and thanks for all the wonderful reviews you guys rock!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Instead of writing Chapter Eight, I wrote Sabotage, which will be up when I finish this fic. It's sort of this whole fight with Dean from Autumn's POV... a taste of the fic I'll be writing after I stop writing the hunts. So look for that to be up with in the next few days. It's finished but it gives away the end of this fic a bit, so I'm keeping it locked away. Now... ON WITH THE HUNT!

**Chapter Eight**

"Leave the body be until we figure out what's going on here. We don't need cops swarming the place, they'll just get in the way." The three hunters turned to stare at the auburn haired woman pouring over John's journal. "What? You want them to take the body away, and everything else in there? It'll just make things harder so hold your tongue and we'll make the call on our way out. He's not getting any deader."

"Who are you and where did you take my sister?" Athena demanded watching Autumn carefully.

"I'm Sha'ha'ths of from Planet Mysister'samoron." Autumn said flicking her eyes away from her studies long enough to meet Athena's.

"She's right," Sam pulled Athena back away from her sister. "We can't have the police doing anything until we're done. So what do we do?"

"I don't know about you, but I say we go talk to Miss Emily." Dean said pushing off the wall and heading for the door.

"You'll just scare the girl, hold up." Autumn closed the journal and stood. "Athena you want to go with him, Sam and I can check into these cheerleaders?"

"No, you've already talked to her. She'll talk to you more than us." Athena argued. Autumn gave her a martyred sigh following Dean out the door.

"They weren't in town." Athena massaged her temples staring at the screen over Sam's shoulder.

"Where the hell were they then?" she asked him.

"On the road with the football team. The whole week surrounding Faith's death they were gone." he ran the mouse over the dates. "Even better is Emily Christy is a cheerleader, and wasn't here either." Athena sighed.

"So the pep squad didn't kill Faith Forman?"

"I don't know of any ghosts who are going to wait until the cheerleaders leave town to do their dirty work… Hey, look at this." he brought up another window. "Mrs. Brooke Christy started a petition to stop the trip, due to lack of parental supervision on the buses and in the hotel."

"So?"

"She didn't go, either. Her husband comes and goes a lot on business, isn't that what Jimmy told you? Then he turns up missing for two months, and we find him dead in the same place that the cheerleaders are supposed to have summoned and been controlling a spirit while they were out of town. What if Faith was an accident? She just got in the way?"

"That's a little far fetched, Sammy."

"Hi, I'm Autumn Hyde, and this is Dean Jager, we're with the Faith Forman investigation. We need to speak with Emily Christy." Autumn flashed fake badges, as she spoke. Robbie's mother had answered the door and was looking very confused.

"Why would Emily be here?" she asked eyeing them both.

"We were told she had been staying here while her custody case is in court." Autumn supplied.

"No. Are you craze? Emily is dating my son, I'm not going to have two horny teenagers in the same house. My husband is a trucker he's on the road, and I work third shift. They'd be in my house all night with out supervision."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We must have gotten our information wrong." Dean caught Autumn as she stumbled through this conversation. "Do you know where we could find her?"

"Probably, cleaning up her mother up. It's about time for her to leave for work." Mrs. Collins said disdainfully.

"Thank you, for your time." Dean steered Autumn back down the porch steps to the Impala. "That was fun." he said once they were safely inside.

"She might just not know." Autumn offered slumping back into her seat as Dean pulled out of the drive. "I used to do things all the time and swear up and down I hadn't. They're good kids, Mommy and Daddy don't have a reason to doubt them."

"Call your sister get Christy's address."

A two story colonial on the edge of town, bike leaning against the garage door, a familiar Civic parked in the drive, and the sidewalk was covered in the chalk art of the neighbor kids. Not exactly the pictured home of a drug addict and her teenaged daughter. Dean tailed Autumn up the walk and stood off to the side when she knocked on the door. Emmett answered only opening the door enough to poke his head out.

"Yo?"

"We need to talk with Emily." Autumn told him leaving no room for argument.

"Come on." he let them in. Robbie sat just down the short hall in a kitchen chair. The house had been kept up, the dishes were clean and resting in the drying rack. A basset hound was snoring in a basket by the stairs. "Rob, is Em done?"

"No, she's busy. What do you want?" he asked in a poisonous tone.

"We need to talk with her." Autumn repeated. "Where is she?"

"Upstairs with that bitch." Robbie glared at the stair case.

"Dean stay down here, I'm going to go talk with Emily." Autumn started for the stairs when she noticed the absents of the only person she didn't suspect of evil doings. "Where's Jimmy?" both boys tensed up.

"I thought he was with you? He said he was going to see you guys that he wanted to help." Robbie said.

"Yea, he skipped out during lunch." Emmett continued too quickly.

"We told you to stick together." Dean reminded the boys.

"What'd you want us to do, sit on him?" Robbie asked.

"Yes, if that's what it took." Dean looked at Autumn. "Go talk to the girl, I'll call Athena and tell her Jimmy's missing. Go." Autumn pounded up the stairs following the voices once she reached the landing to find Emily.

"Mom, stop!" Emily pleaded. Autumn stood outside the bedroom door listening the all too familiar torture.

"It's your fault he's gone! It's all your fault!" Emily's mother screamed back, her voice rough with rage. "If it wasn't for you the Chief's kid wouldn't be dead. Look what you've done!" A crack of skin hitting skin filled the air and Autumn flinched.

"Mom, I'm fixing it. Jimmy brought help, they think it's the other cheerleaders. It'll be okay we can get out." Emily's voice was thick with tears, and Autumn couldn't listen to anymore she pushed the door open.

"Emily? Honey, I need to talk with you." she coaxed trying not to stare at the red hand print on the girl's face.

"How'd you get in here!?!" Mrs. Christy demanded turning from her daughter. Mrs. Christy had dark circles under her eyes, her bottle blonde hair was huge and stiff from too much hairspray, her breast were spilling over the top of her Victoria's Secret night gown, and her green eyes burned around the dilated pupils.

"It's okay, Emily. Just come here." Autumn ignored the other woman holding her hand out to the girl. "Come on, it's okay." she promised. Emily ran to Autumn hiding behind her. "Emily," she brushed the girl's tears away. "Dean is downstairs, tell him to get you and the boys out of here. Tell him I want him to take you to our place." she said gently keeping herself between the irate woman and her daughter. "Go, now." she gave Emily a shove out the door turning to Mrs. Christy.

"Outside now!" Dean demanded. Robbie and Emmett followed orders not wanting to piss Dean off anymore than he already was. Emily scooped up her dog and stumbled out the door after them. She held onto the dog as if he were the only comfort in the whole world. "Are you okay?" he asked as they piled into the Chevy.

"Yea." Emily said though she shook her head no. "How is she going to get back?" Dean looked at the house one last time before pulling out.

"Autumn's a big girl, she'll be okay." he silently prayed that he was right and Autumn would be okay. "Emily, I need you to tell me what's going on. No lies this time, okay?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Autumn demanded knocking Mrs. Christy into her bed. She secured the woman in place tying her wrists to the bed posts. "What did Emily ever do?" Autumn was having enough trouble burying all her thoughts of abuse anymore, without walking in on it.

"That little harlot!" Mrs. Christy raged pulling at her restraints. Empty bottles of pain killers and antidepressants littered the floor, and every available space. "She made me do it!"

"Do what?" Autumn pressed going to the bathroom for a wet washcloth. She wasn't sure how much of the woman's behavior was her own and how much was the drugs but she could at least try and get through to her.

"She was jealous. She always had those boys to herself. Then Faith," she spat the name, "came along. They didn't mean too. Those girls didn't mean to summon Blake. Ghosts aren't real." she rambled on. "Nope. Nope. Nope. No such things as ghosts." Autumn pressed the cold wash cloth over the woman's eyes. Mrs. Christy went rigid before jumping up and snapping at Autumn like a rabid dog. That was all she was willing to take. Autumn slapped Mrs. Christy, sending the woman in to sobs, tightened her binds and left.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: And the plot twists again... **

**Chapter Nine**

"It's important that you tell us where Jimmy is." Athena said pacing in front of the three teens. Dean leaned against the wall looking incredibly intimidating, Sam and Autumn had their heads bent over John's journal whispering back and forth developing a plan.

"We don't know. I already told you that." Emmett growled.

"No, Met," Emily put a hand on his arm, the fingers of her other hand knotted in Robbie's. "He's at the River. At least for now. I was trying to talk Mom out of it. But she says he has to die too, he knows too much." Athena looked to Dean who'd already gone on the alert, and was tucking his gun in his waistband.

"How much time do we have?" Dean asked.

"Depends on how long it takes Mom to get free." he looked to Autumn. When she'd shown up in the hotwired Civic she'd admitted to tying up Mrs. Christy and leaving her in her room.

"Take Athena and go, I'll stay here with the kids, in case"

"Mom wouldn't hurt us!" Emily cut her off.

"That's a matter of opinion, babe." Autumn said sternly, tracing the thin scars on her wrist. Dean pushed the question of how she'd gotten those out of his mind, not for the first time.

"Let's go Teenie." Athena grabbed her gun hiding it in her jacket as she headed for the car. "Sam, you guys think of anything call." Dean instructed for disappearing out of the motel. Autumn turned to the teens, all sitting on the foot of her bed.

"Let's go over this one more time." she washed a hand over her face. "Emily you and your friends accidentally summoned the spirit of Taylor Blake, a woman who was hung for the murder of Ariel Watson. Then chickened out on the hazing of Faith Forman because that was supposed to be pretend voodoo, just like your 'pretend' séance. You told your mother about both the summoning and your jealousy of Faith after Emmett blew you and Robbie off. Do I have it so far?"

"Yea." Emily said hanging her head.

"So, you're mother finds a way of controlling the spirit through a shrine in Blake's house. She gets Blake to kill Faith. Then you find out she's also killed your father when she found out he was having an affair?" Emily nodded still refusing to make eye contact. "So she holds your dad for a little while, puts a missing person's out on him then kills him herself. When she discovered you knew she told you she'd kill you too. Which is when you made up the vision about the cheerleaders coming after you. The other visions can be written off on a guilty conscience and you'll be fine if we can keep your mom from killing Jimmy."

"Yes, ma'am." Autumn dropped her head on the table and sighed.

"Sam, people are all crazy. I will never understand any of them." she said dejectedly. Sam patted her head and looked to the trio on the bed.

"Well, the good news is we already destroyed the spirit. So now we just have to deal with you're mom."

"How is that good? You can't kill her mom!" Robbie asked.

Athena didn't bother picking the lock instead she beat her gun against the lock breaking it off and rushed inside before Dean could get to her. He followed her as she ran through the River. She checked the first two floors not finding anyone before she finally made it to the room Faith was found in. Jimmy lay on the floor unconscious. She hit her knees at his side checking his vitals.

"Is he alive?" Dean asked poised to attack anything that moved.

"Yea." she hauled the boy into her arms trying to drag him and her to her feet. "No body's here, Dean."

"Let me take him, you cover me." he took Jimmy from her slinging the boy over his shoulder. Dean sagged under the boys weight but made it down the stairs and to the back door. "We didn't shut this."

"Move I'll get it, it was probably just the wind." Athena squeezed past him in the narrow hall and yanked on the door. "Oh shit."

"Don't even say it." Dean eased Jimmy to the ground sitting him in front of the door. "Get your gun out, don't let the boy leave your sight. I'm going to find a way out."

"Mary, I don't usually bug you but please put a good word in for us, for the kid's sake." Athena crouched down by Jimmy keeping on hand on the boy while she watched for Dean or some boogeyman to jump out at her.

Every time something moved outside the motel Autumn and Sam would jump. Dean and Athena were taking too long. It shouldn't be so hard to get a kid and get back. Sam looked across the room at Autumn who had a death grip on the silver bullet at her throat and was staring out the window. Dark was falling and the three teens were strewn across the beds watching TV. Autumn locked eyes with Sam, and without moving or saying a word they decided what to do.

"I'll be right back." she said extracting her cell phone as she left the room. Athena was the last person she'd called so she just hit send, calling her again. The ringing seemed to take an eternity before Athena picked up.

"Yea, we'll be there as soon as we find a way out." Athena answered before they'd even exchanged greetings.

"Is everyone okay?" Autumn didn't bother to hide the blind panic in her voice.

"Jimmy's out cold, and I've not seen Dean in fifteen minutes. He told me to stay where I'm at and he'd come for me when he found a way out."

"You want me to come?"

"Not yet, if he doesn't show up in a few minutes I'll call." Athena paused a moment listening to something Autumn could hear. "Son of a bitch! I thought you destroyed the body!"

"WE DID!" Dean yelled, followed directly by the unmistakable sound of shots being fired.

"Autumn, Blake is here. I've got to go." Athena said in a rush then the line went dead. Autumn tore back into the motel room.

"Sam, we didn't get her. She's holding the at the River."

Blake dematerialized after Dean shot her. He leaned forward hands on his knees and panted a moment, mind reeling over burning her body trying to think of a way the spirit could still be around. Athena stood over Jimmy reminding him of a little Chihuahua guarding its chow.

"Can we get out a window?" she asked eyes wide and wild, casting about for any signs of movement.

"I tried to break one and she showed up." All the doors were locked, and as soon as he stepped within two feet of the window Blake had shown up. "Didn't you destroy the alter?"

"No! Damn it! We wanted you guys to see it."

"Call them!" he barked before she had time to pull the guilty shit Sam would have.

"Don't you want to stay and play?" Dean spun around to face the voice that had addressed them. Taylor Blake stood barely five feet tall, chestnut hair tied off at her neck with a black ribbon, everything about her manner of dress was black, and despite being from the early 1800's she was wear short breeches the only reach mid-calf. "Its not fun if you call for help." she pouted.

"Dean, she's interfering with my phone. There's no signal." Athena said behind him.

"Keep trying." he barked over his shoulder.

"That's cute. But it won't work." Taylor said with a smirk. "At least it didn't for the other girl. So you may as well give up."

"I don't think so." Athena ran for the nearest window and shot it out. But before the glass fell Taylor was on her tackling her to the ground pinning her down.

"Brains and beauty never seem to go together, princess." Blake said leaning in over Athena bringing her lips in over the blondes.

Dean let off a shot. "As much fun as that's be to watch.." Blake ran a hand through Athena's hair before disappearing.

"Had you stood and watched I'd kick your ass." Athena growled rolling to her feet. "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know, try your phone." Athena picked her phone up where she'd dropped it in her mad rush.

"We've got signal."

"Leave the dog, Emily." Autumn pointed out the door. "We've got to go." Emily glared at her but sat the dog back down on the bed. John quickly moved to sniff the other dog out while the two women turned to leave. Sam already had the Mustang started and was waiting impatiently. Normally, they'd leave the kids, but these three just kept getting into more trouble. Emmett and Robbie were already crammed in the backseat and Emily joined them.

"The River?" Sam asked pulling out of the parking lot.

"Yep, unless you know how Blake would be anchoring herself." Autumn jumped when her phone rang. "You get out?"

"Not so much." Athena answered. "But I can tell you what it's like to make out with Casper." she said with a hint of hysteria.

"What do you want us doing?" Autumn asked her sister. She could find out what kissing Casper had to do with anything later.

"Go out to her place and torture the alter. Hell take the whole shack down if you want to." Athena ordered.

"You didn't destroy it yet?!?" she wasn't sure what else to say to this complete lapse in judgment.

"Yea, ground me later." Athena hung up.

"We're headed to destroy a shrine."

**A/N: So I think I might squeeze two more chapters out of this, then we'll be done. OH I almost forgot HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAN!!!! It's January 24th, the hottest Winchester turns... what 29 today? **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:Hello again my lovelies! I seriously didn't think I'd be getting this out before this weekend, but here it is. Enjoy.**

**Chapter Ten**

"She kissed me, Dean. That's just so many levels of wrong!" Athena had slid quickly into 'bitch mode' after talking with her sister. Dean felt like an idiot, continuously trying to get to the window only to be thrown against the wall behind him again. Taylor Blake, his new best friend had decided if she couldn't play with them with out getting shot she wasn't going to come out and play at all.

"You liked it." he accused teasingly. She fixed him with a glare, pushing past him and knocking him right into the fly zone. Again he flew threw the air smacking the wall. "Son of a bitch."

"No, darling, adopted daughter of a bitch." Athena corrected. He rolled his eyes picking himself back up.

"The kid awake yet?" she dropped to the ground next to Jimmy with a sigh.

"Does he look awake to you?"

"What are we doing here?" Emily asked from the back seat, panic spiking her voice.

"We've come to sell you to the devil. Think he'll give us what we want?" Autumn asked climbing out of the Ford and looking at the house appraisingly.

"Autumn!" Sam scolded. "Don't even say that, it doesn't sound good."

"And even the trees have ears in this country." she closed the car door behind her. "You three don't move." Sam shook his head, he wasn't sure if it was Dean rubbing off on her or if she was finally breaking through a façade put on to not scare him and his brother away.

"Let's go." he called already headed in. Autumn scurried to follow. She didn't give the rotting body more than glance before moving onto the closet that housed the alter.

"He's not been dead the whole two months." Autumn told him as she knelt down looking the shrine over. "Got a light?" Sam shined his flashlight in her direction. "I meant like fire, Sammy."

"Oh. Uh, yea." he dug a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it to her. She flicked in on holding the tiny flicker of flame to the photographs, the fire quickly ate through them and beyond a scorched wall and puff of smoke left no evidence of it's life.

"What do we do with this though? Blood's not going to burn."

"What are you doing!?" Blake reappeared flickering in and out of sight.

"Camping. Do you have any marshmallows we could use?" Dean asked in a bored tone keeping himself between the spirit and his two younger charges.

"Don't lie to me, boy." the spirit roared.

"We've not done a damn thing, lady." Athena stood up and moved to stand just behind Dean. "Why feeling faint?"

"She's a witch!" the spirit accused point at Athena. "She's using a spell to destroy me."

"Yea, I'm the bad one here." Athena mocked. Blake rushed her, passing straight through Dean and slamming Athena into the door.

"What are you doing to me?" she demanded using her now-you-see-me-now-you-don't body to keep Athena still.

"You tell me, Taylor, because I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look at me! I'm disappearing!"

"Am I supposed to pity you?" Athena turned her head as the spirit brought her face in.

"You don't want to stop?" Blake purred. "Then I'll make you." Pain erupted in Athena's abdomen where Blake had her hand. It felt like someone was actually squeezing her liver, turning it to mush.

"Dean," Athena ground out. "Help?"

Dean had already run over his options, shooting Blake would mean shooting Athena too, and he couldn't see Autumn being very forgiving of killing her sister. He had to think of something, though, because Blake might just do that.

"Autumn, step back."

Sam had found a tin pail and put the goblet down inside it, pouring lighter fluid in. The flammable liquid mixed with the blood/hair concoction, and soaked the goblet. He'd stuffed napkins, from the car, into the goblet to soak up as much of the blood as possible making it a quicker job. This was far from his brightest idea, but it would get the job done. Autumn didn't need telling twice, she pitched a handful of salt in for good measure and moved back away from Sam and the pail. He struck a match that he'd found in the glove box and dropped it in jumping back when the fire jumped up.

Blake disappeared and Athena fell to the ground, but no one moved. Dean stood holding his breath waiting for the next attack. But even the air felt cleaner. Athena groaned propping herself up and giving him a smirk. She reached for the doorknob giving it a twist before collapsing forward laughing. She sounded more than a little manic, looking like she belonged in a padded room.

"You good to go?" Dean asked nudging her with his foot.

"Holy Hell, dude." Athena pulled herself up on the door and threw her shoulders back working out a kink. "That one was a little off her rocker, eh?" Dean laughed.

"Not as much as you." she puffed up with false bravado.

"It is my greatest duty." Athena bowed, but he caught the wince.

"Go to the car, I'll be right out." he instructed turning to pick Jimmy up. Athena waited on him, walking at his side to the Chevy. Dean's phone rang as he was maneuvering the boy into the back seat.

"Ten bucks says it's them." Athena grinned.

"What, I'm not good enough for dinner?"

"Sorry, man, but I don't go for the short, bossy kind. They're a little tedious." Dean shook his head rounding the front of his baby as he answered his phone.

"Yellow."

"Hey, did we get her that time?" he smiled at the sound of Autumn's voice.

"No, she's just letting me say my good-byes before she offs me."

"Wow, gracious. I hope when I get offed my killer is as kind." There was an awkward pause as they remembered they weren't supposed to be very happy with each other. "How's Teenie, and Jr. Hunter?"

"No worse for the wear. Everyone okay on your end?"

"Emily is going to need a good shrink, but I think we're good. Meet back at the rooms?"

"Yea, on my way." he shoved the phone back in his pocket and dropped in behind the wheel.

Athena had a pretty bruise and couldn't keep anything down for a day. Jimmy told the hunters, when the other teens had been settled, that Mrs. Christy had intercepted him when he'd left the school. The boy insisted on being allowed to stay with Athena instead of going to school the next day, and she seemed to enjoy his company more than anyone else's. Autumn swore it was because she'd never see the kid again so who cares if he saw her throw up.

Emmett called the cops telling them he'd found Mr. Christy. While Robbie, had pulled together a story on his own but wouldn't fill the Winchesters or Daemons in on it. Promising only that if they got out of town and didn't look back that he'd see to it they weren't suspected. Emily was placed in the emergency custody of Chief Forman, when she told of her mother's involvement in Faith and her father's murders.

"Teenie, I'm out. I'll be back after a while, okay?" Autumn twisted her jean skirt straight and looked herself over in the mirror. She had decided that the only way to swallow her pride and make up with Dean was to stoop to a low she hadn't hit in a long time.

"Where you going?" Athena asked watching, the way a child used would watch their mother get ready for a night out.

"Don't worry about it." Autumn ruffled her sister's hair earning a glare and smack on the ass.

"Would you stop doing that! I'm not a four year old!" she protested.

"Bye, Squirt."

The local bar was having a karaoke night, which drew in more than its fair share of participants, as it was settled on the county boarder and the neighboring count was dry. Autumn entered, locking up her nerves and putting on her best show of confidence. She found a spot at the bar and ordered a tequila tell the bartended to leave the bottle. She threw back two shots before seeking out the sign-up sheet. The red head flipped through the binder of song choices trying to find a song that fit her mood.

Men and women climbed up on the stage singing their songs, and Autumn found herself looking for Simon, Paula, and Randy. The good ones were few and far between, she knew all the songs by heart though and sang along under her breath. A lanky man sat down on the barstool next to her and nodded at her empty shot glass.

"You're hittin' that awful hard. Bad day at the office?" he smiled politely, though the flash of pearly whites didn't distract from his eyes trailing over her body.

"Everyday I get out of my office alive is a good day." Autumn said. "I'm Autumn by the way."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Bob." he grinned. "Go ahead. Laugh, Miss Autumn." She took his invitation laughing harder than she'd meant to. "Okay, it's not that funny."

"No. I'm sorry." she shook her head. "It's just… You've seen the commercials, haven't you?" he chuckled.

"Yea, they're a little hard to miss." he turned his attention to the stage. "So if it's not a bad day at work, what makes you drink your dinner?"

"I've got to apologize to a guy." Autumn found her foot tapping along to the beat of Margaritaville.

"Ah." Bob gave an exaggerated nod. "Whose the guy?"

"My partner." she didn't feel like divulging all the details of her relationship with Dean. Hell, she wasn't even sure what his title was.

"So you're a pig?"

"Tact isn't your best suit is it?"

"No, but I usually get by alright with my charming good looks." Autumn leaned back to take a good look at Bob. He was good looking, in the small town way. No movie star, but his dark hair, blue eyes, and bright smile weren't lost.

"No, I'm not with the police." she paused a moment. "Exactly."

"Exactly? So you do fight crime?"

"You could say that?"

"A crime fighter, and her partner are in Bushwood. Whose your arch nemesis?" he asked with amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The familiar spike in her heart rate made Autumn turn around. Dean was at the other end of the bar ordering a beer. She watched him take a seat in the back of the bar, settling down and watching her.

"That's rude, you know."

"Hmm?" she turned back to Bob.

"See, I'm trying to get your number here and your giving other guys the gaga eyes."

"Sorry, I know him from somewhere." she dismissed Dean, though she couldn't shake his eyes on the back of her head.

"So how 'bout it? Can I have your number?"

"Oh…" she shook her head. "Um"

"Next is Autumn Hyde with I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today." a balding man with a large belly said in a clear baritone into the mic. Autumn smiled again at Bob before sauntering up to the stage "Hi honey." he grinned. "What'd you think of Ole Chuck?" he asked referring to the man who had just exited the stage after singing Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy.

"If he's the cowboy, I'll keep my horse." She pulled her hair around over her shoulder trying to douse the butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

"You ever trade your horse of a cowboy?"

"Well, you're a nosey little fella." she chided. "But no, cowboys are all heart breakers." he chuckled.

"Ya look like quite the heart breaker yourself, hon."

"Better theirs than mine." Several people in the audience laughed, but that fact was lost to her as she scanned the room for Dean. He was standing at the back of the bar leaned against the wall, a table of women not far off were making eyes at him but he didn't seem to notice.

"How 'bout you sing for us?" the crowd clapped and he handed over the microphone.

"I don't feel like loving you today

So Don't you even try to change my mind

The best thing you can do right now is just go away

Cause I don't feel like loving you today

I don't want to talk about last night

I'm angry and I haven't had much sleep

And I'm so tired and bloodshot, there ain't no telling' what I'd say

Cause I don't feel like loving you today

But you know I will anyway

Even though we make it hard sometimes

I'll wind up forgiving you

And probably loving you for the rest of my life

But I don't feel like loving you today

And I've got sixteen hours left to go

I might tell you that I'm leavin' even though you know I'll stay

Cause I don't feel like loving you today

But you know I will anyway

Even though we make it hard sometimes

I'll wind up forgiving you

And probably loving you for the rest of my life

But I don't feel like loving you today

I just don't feel like loving you today."

Autumn sang the lyrics of I Don't Feel Like Loving You Todayfor all she was worth. Pouring more into the song than she thought she had. When the song ended and the music stopped the audience applauded but the sound fell on deaf ears. She needed to talk to Dean now, or she'd never do it.

"I feel I should probably tell you I'm taken." she said walking up to him. "You've been watching me all night, and it's not fair to the other women. I've got a great guy, already."

"Oh," he nodded catching on. "So where is Mr. Wonderful?" he asked.

"Probably out looking for me. We had a tiff and I've sort of been giving him the cold shoulder."

"What'd you fight about?" She shrugged showing it didn't matter now.

"As a joke I hid his car, God his car. You should see it. 1967 Chevy Impala. Beautiful, sleek, sexy ride. It's…" Autumn closed her eyes and sighed playing it up.

"Sounds like your in love with his car." he furrowed his brow watching her, waiting on the point of their new game.

"Car crush." she smirked. "But I've got a great car myself. '65 Mustang." he nodded.

"Nice. So, you hid his car and he did what in return?"

"Stole my dog, egged my car, let the air out of two of the tires, and detached the side mirrors. Nothing, I couldn't fix with a couple hours and some elbow grease, but it's the principle of the thing."

"Yea, I guess. I'm voting for you." he nodded at the stage.

"Thanks, it won't matter, though."

"Why's that?"

"See Erica there?" Autumn pointed at the woman on the stage now, brutally murdering a Shania Twain song. "She's really an Eric, and the owner's son. See the money from this will go to his sexual reassignment surgery."

"Damn." she nodded in agreement.

"Athena was right." Autumn said after a long pause. "There is an underlying psychological reason for what I did. After Billy-Jack I vowed never to fall for another guy. At the time someone like you was as likely as nailing Hugh Jackman. I was doing so good too, then I wake up the other day and there you are. I'd fallen head over heels just like I promised myself to never do. I freaked out a little and… Dean, every time you touch me I wonder when you're going to ask for more than I want to give. Every time you pick up a beer I'm afraid that you'll get plastered and hit me. I keep telling myself it'll never happen but it's hard. I was so young, and had no idea how things were supposed to work. My mind accepted what he did to me as what was supposed to happen."

"Aut," Dean brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. "Why didn't you say something?" Autumn chewed her lip looking away from the man she owed her sanity to. "God, I wish you would have said something."

"I was afraid." she admitted. He swallowed the last of his beer sitting down at the nearest table and pulled me to him. Autumn sat in his lap, leg on either side of him, arms wrapped around his neck so not to fall off.

"Aut, you should never be afraid of me." he coaxed. "I will never hurt you." Dean swore.

"I know, just be patient with me."

"I don't have anywhere else to be, babe."

"Good." a smirk teased at her lips. "Now, isn't there something we're supposed to do now that we've made up? You know to make it official." She claimed his lips for her own drawing him as close as she could

"Aren't you afraid?" he asked when they parted.

"If I say no will you beg?"

**A/N: And we're done. I hope you all enjoyed, and as soon as I can I'll start the next fic. But I won't leave you all hanging, I've got a few oneshots lined up between now and the next fic, just in case it's a while before I can write. I mentioned it in some of my replies t o your reviews but for those of you who don't know: 5 years ago we put my grandpa in a nursing home with alzhieimers. He's been bad off since just before Thanksgiving and we're in the last few days of his life now. My mom's a nurse and we've all seen this coming medically for a long while now, so I'm not breaking down in tears or anything. I'm fine, and my family is taking it all really well, but that doesn't remove the parts where I'll need to spend time with them, and even if I can't keep my mind from doing a little writing, I don't know when I'll acutally have time to type it all up. So, be patient with me and I'll do what I can to get you another fic soon. I love you all, you're reviews seriously keep me alive. -Hugs to all-**


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